Xue Huan paused while wiping her hair. "Hmm? What did you find?"
Xuan Ling: "There's a black market underneath the Narcissus Pavilion. I went for a look around, and it was quite lively inside, with at least a hundred stalls of all sizes."
Xue Huan became interested when she heard this. "Do you know where the entrance is? I'll go take a look too."
"I know. I'll take you there."
Xue Huan said to the two maids, "I'm tired. I'm going upstairs to sleep. You are not allowed to come upstairs to disturb me without my permission."
"yes."
Xue Huan went upstairs, closed the door, and set up a barrier - this barrier was based on the barrier in the cave in Jueling Valley that imprisoned Xuan Ling. Although she couldn't set up a barrier that was exactly the same as the original, the effect was 50% of the original. Even if a Jindan stage cultivator came, he would be blocked outside and couldn't easily get in.
After setting up the barrier, she followed Xuan Ling towards the entrance of the black market.
The entrance to the black market is not inside the Narcissus Pavilion, but in an ordinary house quite far away from the Narcissus Pavilion.
Of course, it may look ordinary on the outside, but it actually has a lot of secrets on the inside. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the entrance to the black market.
However, according to Xuan Ling's preliminary investigation, there should be more than one such hidden entrance.
A cunning rabbit has three burrows.
Xue Huan knocked on the courtyard door. A servant came to open it and glanced at her inconspicuously. "Who are you looking for, young lady?"
"Give me your change, Mr. Qian Jinbao."
The servant's eyes flashed, "What do you want to see Master Qian about?"
"I'm here to look for my relatives. Mr. Qian is the nephew of my mother's great-uncle's nephew's cousin."
The codeword matched, and the servant opened the door halfway and stepped aside, "Please come in."
The reason for this secrecy is naturally because the black market is shameful and not allowed by the Aristocratic Family Alliance. As mentioned earlier, the spiritual world is governed by the major forces (one academy, three sects, and five aristocratic families). They manage the people within their jurisdiction and set taxes and other responsibilities.
In order to monopolize the business in the spiritual world and become the only dominant force, these forces have imposed very heavy commercial taxes. As long as you set up a stall on their territory, you have to pay a 30% tax.
Who can afford such high taxes?
There are countermeasures to every policy, and the black market has quietly emerged.
Since it is a black market, it is unknown to the public. Neither the stall owner nor the customer will disclose the transaction amount. In this way, the purpose of tax avoidance is achieved.
Lingyao City was originally a city built along with Lingyao Academy. In the beginning, it was governed by the academy. Later, the forces of various sects and families continued to infiltrate, resulting in Lingyao City being divided up by various forces today.
The Jinliu Street area belongs to the Zhou family, and the Zhou family’s commercial tax is notoriously high, reaching a terrifying 40%!
But the Zhou family is powerful and no one can do anything about it. If you want to do business in this area, you can only pay taxes honestly, otherwise the Zhou family will have plenty of ways to deal with those merchants.
Narcissus Pavilion dared to run a black market in secret, which can be said to be stroking the tiger's whiskers of the Zhou family. It can be said that it is very brave.
Xue Huan asked how Narcissus Pavilion could make money if it set the threshold so high. It turned out that they didn't need to rely on their customers to make money. The existence of Narcissus Pavilion was just a front for the black market underneath.
After entering, the servant took Xue Huan along a winding path, turning around several corridors and passing through several doors, and finally - entered a room with a dark room. After entering the dark room, they walked down the spiral stairs layer by layer.
Finally, they arrived at an underground maze. The route of the maze was only known by the people of Narcissus Pavilion. Even if outsiders found this place, they would not be able to find a way out without the guidance of the people of Narcissus Pavilion.
After wandering around in the maze, the route was so complicated that Xue Huan felt dizzy.
It seems that Narcissus Pavilion has really taken great pains to prevent the black market from being discovered by the Zhou family.
After exiting the maze, they walked through a long corridor and came to a barrier. The barrier looked like a transparent water curtain. The servant took out a token and stuck it on the barrier, and the barrier disappeared.
"Please come in, sir." The servant gestured to her.
The moment Xue Huan stepped into the barrier, the barrier reappeared behind her.
She appeared in a small room. On the right was a long counter half a person's height. Behind the counter lay a person wearing a white fox mask.
"Welcome to the black market. Please pay the entrance fee of five spirit stones." The man said to her.
It turned out that there was an entrance fee. She said that Narcissus Pavilion spent so much manpower, material and financial resources and risked offending the Zhou family to set up such a black market. It was not like it was for charity and provided everyone with a free trading place without paying taxes.
Just from the admission fees, Narcissus Pavilion must have made a lot of money.
However, since so many people are willing to come here, it shows that compared with the high taxes to be paid to the Zhou family, these five spirit stones are much cheaper.
Xue Huan handed over five spirit stones, put away the fox mask, and pointed to the shelf next to the counter: "These masks can block spiritual consciousness and prevent recognition. Pick one for yourself."
There were many masks of different styles, colors and sizes displayed on the shelves. They looked very exquisitely made. Xue Huan picked out a purple hollow half butterfly mask and put it on her face.
The mask only covers the upper half of the face, leaving the lips and chin exposed, which does not affect speaking and eating.
The mask also has the function of automatically adjusting its size. When put on, it fits her face very well and does not feel stuffy at all.
There is no extra charge for the mask, it is included in the entrance fee of five spirit stones.
Xue Huan was a little uncomfortable at first, but after getting the mask, that discomfort disappeared. She just thought of it as spending five spirit stones to buy the mask.
It feels like a good deal.
As expected of Narcissus Pavilion, which can set up such a big stall, it knows how to do business.
Xue Huan pushed open the door and walked out. The noisy and bustling sounds hit her in the face. The stalls stretched out as far as the eye could see. A quick glance showed that there were probably thousands of people inside.
She stepped out.
It was not until this moment that I truly arrived at the black market.
Xue Huan raised her head and looked upwards. The ceiling was quite a distance from the ground. The space was very large and did not make people feel stuffy at all. It was inlaid with stars, like a dreamy and brilliant starry night scene, giving people the illusion of standing under the night sky.
In fact, those stars are luminous stones. Under the illumination of the luminous stones, the entire black market is as bright as day, and it does not affect vision at all.
The stalls in the black market were crisscrossed but neatly arranged. Xue Huan randomly chose a direction and walked along.
The things sold here are varied, including magical instruments, elixirs, talismans, minerals, spiritual plants, etc. There are also some things that are said to be brought out from secret realms and cannot be identified. She was dazzled by the sight.
But Xue Huan was in a good mood, feeling like she was shopping on Taobao.
Xuan Ling is knowledgeable and experienced, while Xiao Shitou has a natural sensitivity to stone-based treasures. Thanks to the two of them, she has picked up quite a few bargains.
Although she had given away a lot of spirit stones, she was still very happy to have harvested so many good things.
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